The two baby hummingbirds (that we have been watching grow in one of our trees) are pictured here on the eve of first flight.  The next morning, the eldest lifted off and left the nest. I like to imagine she felt all the love we gave her, layered upon her mother’s tireless care.  We wish her the very best as she spreads her wings!  Today, perhaps the younger baby will follow….

My eldest child is also finding her wings this week! She has set off on an adventure, she is trying school for the first time!  Of course, we have home schooled (mainly unschooled) for nearly 5 years now, but this going to the local elementary school is a very different kind of adventure.  It feels like my 9 and a half year old “baby” is leaving the nest (just a little bit) and I have super mixed emotions.  As with the hummingbirds, I wish her so much love and luck on this next flight…..but I also want to snuggle into the nest with her and hold her tight forever.  Sigh, I feel there will be more and more of this to come as her wings stretch and lift her farther and higher in the years to come.

Here is my daughter (and the younger hummingbird), ready to fly!

I am so glad that my growing girl is embracing this adventure with such beautiful excitement and joy.  But I must admit, I also take comfort in the fact that this is just one week of her being away at the big school.  Next week we will settle back into our cozy homeschool routine and finish out the year in a familiar fashion.  Sometime before the fall, my big girl will decide which schooling adventure she will choose for next year.  And I will support her with all my heart (even if it hurts).

P.S.  My “Find Your Wings” piece is now available as an art card (professionally printed on 100% recycled paper).  You can get them at Artzi Stuff or from my Etsy shop.  It might be the perfect graduation card for someone on your list!

…remembering that she was a child once too, remembering that I have an inner child that still needs mothering, missing her and trying to mother myself better these days….so I can be an amazing mother for my sweet girls!

I am happy to share the exciting news that we have a hummingbird family making a home in one of our trees.  On Earth Day, my husband found a tiny, perfectly camouflaged nest with two wee eggs.  Now we knew why there was a female Rufous Hummingbird buzzing us every time we walked by that tree!  Waiting for a time when the mama was off feeding, my hubby placed his new Contour ROAM camera in the branch (bendy tripods rock!) and he started shooting video.  I was worried the mama would abandon the nest but she just buzzed the camera for a couple minutes that first time and since then she has completely ignored it.

Two days after we found the nest, the first egg hatched!  The tiny nestling wowed us with its wiggly form and the mama worked hard feeding it all day.  The second egg hatched the next day and we have been uploading footage every day since.  Check it out and watch them grow with us on YouTube (I suggest you watch them in order starting from the earliest date).  You will be amazed at how quickly they are developing!  What an amazing experience to see this happening in our own front yard!

……………I think I feel a hummingbird painting coming on!

Every day is Earth Day but today we have marked the occasion for special attention, reflection, and celebration.  How will you celebrate and connect with the Earth today?  I will be joining my girls and a bunch of other kids for a tour at a local creek where we will meet the water insects, help the salmon fry and learn about how we are all connected to the rivers and ocean.

My Earth Day wish is that all children will play at their local waterways, fall in love with the plants and animals that share our world, and always want to protect the Earth (and the Water that makes up most of it!).

What is your Earth Day wish?